Aliens: Past Present Future

by Ron Miller, David Brin (Foreword), John Elliot (Foreword)

Aliens: Past, Present and Future covers the subject of extraterrestrial life from every angle, from the earliest speculations more than 400 years ago about the possibility of life on other worlds, to today's ongoing search for Earth 2.0. In between are lessons learned about how life originated on our own planet, as well as the story behind the vast cult that has grown up around -flying saucers- and strange visitors from other planets, including popular culture renditions of them. The book is organised into three Parts. Part 1 reviews humankind's changing thinking about extraterrestrial beings and life through history, from Ancient times through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to today; Part 2 discusses the science of extraterrestrial life - in a way that every reader, non-scientist and scientist alike, will understand; and Part 3 explores the deep impact the idea of extraterrestrial life has had, not only on science and space exploration but on popular culture as well - and the potential impact it may have on philosophy and religion. The very concept of extraterrestrial life has been a driving force behind our exploration of the universe and a pervasive presence in movies, books, comics, and advertising throughout the past century. Written by bestselling author Ron Miller and with forewords by acclaimed sci-fi novelist David Brin and Professor Andrew Fraknoi, the book features more than 200 illustrations - from centuries-old engravings, book, comic and magazine art, movie posters, purported UFO photographs, to colour illustrations showing what today's cutting-edge scientists think extraterrestrial life could be like.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2017

About the author

Ron Miller is an illustrator and author living in South Boston, Virginia. Before becoming a freelance illustrator in 1977, Miller was art director for the National Air & Space Museum's Albert Einstein Planetarium. Prior to this he was a commercial advertising illustrator. His primary work today entails the writing and illustration of books specializing in astronomical, astronautical and science fiction subjects. His special interest is in exciting young people about science, and in recent years has focused on writing books for young adults. To date he has more than 50 titles to his credit. His work has also appeared on scores of book jackets, book interiors and in magazines such as National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Air & Space, Sky & Telescope, Newsweek, Natural History, Discover, Geo, etc.

Miller's books include the Hugo-nominated The Grand Tour, Cycles of Fire, In the Stream of Stars, and The History of Earth. All of have been Book-of-the-Month Club Feature Selections (as well as selections of the Science, Quality Paperback and Astronomy book clubs) and have seen numerous translations.

Considered an authority on Jules Verne, Miller translated and illustrated new, definitive editions of Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth as well as a major companion/atlas to Verne's works. He has worked as a consultant on Verne for Disney Imagineering and for A&E's Biography series.

Miller is also considered an authority on the early history of spaceflight. The Dream Machines, a comprehensive 744-page history of manned spacecraft, was nominated for the prestigious IAF Manuscript Award and won the Booklist Editor's Choice Award.

As an artist, Miller has designed a set of ten commemorative stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and has been a production illustrator for motion pictures, notably Dune and Total Recall. He has also done preproduction concepts, consultation and matte art for David Lynch, George Miller, John Ellis, UFO Films and James Cameron. He designed and co-directed the computer-generated show ride film, Impact! and has taken part in numerous international space art workshops and exhibitions, including seminal sessions held in Iceland and the Soviet Union (where he was invited by the Soviet government to take part in the 30th anniversary celebration of the launch of Sputnik). His original paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Pushkin Museum (Moscow).

Reviews

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Won in the Goodreads Giveaways.
Beautifully printed full of information, highly recommend!

[Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly fascinating! I'm not an alien conspiracy theorist - I don't think we've been secretly visited and I don't think they "walk among us" (ooooh *spooky fingers*) - but I'm definitely intrigued by extraterrestrial life in a scientific sense, which is the stance this book takes as well. It described various planetary compositions and how they might inform a species' biology and evolution, as well as society's attitudes and the creative (sometimes comical) ways people have envisioned aliens over the centuries. The illustrations people made in the 1700s were so fun and interesting. I was really into that part of the book, taking copious notes and getting my neurons all fired up with thoughts, but I lost steam in the last third or so, when it started focusing on pop culture, describing novel after novel and movie after movie that features aliens.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mostly scholarly look at the history of aliens and the mythology surrounding them. I was surprised (and disappointed) that despite having an in-depth look at how art, literature, movies & TV have shaped the look of aliens into the general slender big-headed "Gray" stereotype... that H.P. Lovecraft or his Cthulhu mythos weren't mentioned at all.

(At least Miller gave props to James Cameron's best movie, 'The Abyss'.)

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

326 - 2020

[Kiyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It leans more on the aliens-are-less-likely-to-exist side. But the pictures are great. Lots of planet history, pop-culture, investigation history, etc. It's a great coffee table book.